U.S. Pat. No. 4,098,367 discloses a speed controlling arrangement for a motor vehicle wherein, however, a new desired speed value is suddenly provided during acceleration. Since the vehicle reacts relatively sluggishly, the danger exists that control oscillations will persist at least a few periods after the new desired value is reached. U.S. Pat. 4,094,378 discloses the utilization of a controller having a PD-performance to reduce such overshoots. With such PD-controllers or P-controllers, the control speed is inaccurate after the set-up operation because of different loadings and variable play in the linkage mechanism of the actuator. If on the other hand, an I-controller is utilized in this situation, a reduced driving comfort is obtained.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,437 discloses a speed-control arrangement for motor vehicles wherein the desired acceleration and deceleration operations can be definitively controlled from the accelerator-pedal transducer. The foregoing is achieved by evaluating a signal characterizing the position of the accelerator-pedal transducer pursuant to a predetermined function and by utilizing an integrator in the transmitting path of the controller for the driving speed. In this connection, the presetting of definite accelerations occures in the manner of a pure closed-loop control wherein the actual speed is controlled to a desired value. On the one hand, this arrangement presupposes an unconventional utilization of the accelerator-pedal transducer as an acceleration transducer while, on the other hand, inaccuracies in the terminal speed after the acceleration operations can occur, for example, in uneven terrain or by otherwise large influences which act on the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,511 discloses a speed control arrangement for motor vehicles wherein the actual speed is followed by a ramp-shaped desired speed during acceleration operations so that a softer transition to the particular new terminal speed results and so that this terminal speed is precisely reached in each instance. However, this arrangement requires a large discrete circuit complex and is therefore relatively expensive. Although the operation of this arrangement is fully digital, it does not, without more, permit a component-saving connection with a fuel metering device likewise operating electronically, and especially, not while also utilizing an already available computer in such an electronic fuel metering system.